Editor's Note: With feasible (though hypothetical) financial benefits such as Mashable's last item on this list: "Increase per pupil spending 6,892 times over in Nevada," the financial benefits of regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol are hard to resist. The potential impact on our nation's education system alone is perhaps compelling enough to win over some hard-nosed opponents of legalization.Â
Stoners are sparking up Colorado's tax revenue.
One of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, Colorado has had a banner year in pot sales. Since January 2014, legal marijuana dispensaries have sold well over $240 millionworth of the legalized drug.
The legalization also came with an approved caveat. The first $40 million "generated by the state excise tax" will be put toward school construction, according to the Denver Post. As of now, between January and October 2014, the state has made about $60.1 million in taxes, licenses and fees for medical and recreational marijuana. Though those are the only reported figures thus far, the state could see much higher results after collecting November and December taxes.
With that kind of bank, legalizing marijuana could greatly benefit many other U.S. states and cities in various ways...
